


flowers and ferris wheels

by vaahtokarkki



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Mutual Pining, Valentine's Day, it's clearer from one side but. it's mutual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-28 16:09:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17790551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vaahtokarkki/pseuds/vaahtokarkki
Summary: After getting dumped on Valentine's Day, Kaoru finds a new date in someone unexpected.





	flowers and ferris wheels

**Author's Note:**

> heya!! it's been a while, but here's finally a new fic! I wanted to post this before valentine's ended, and the day changed at my time zone already, but it's still valentine's somewhere in the world, so. enjoy!!

The last person Shu expects to find alone on Valentine’s Day is Kaoru Hakaze.

Some other people on their class, a lot of other people in the school, but Kaoru? No way such a guy is spending Valentine’s alone. He’s probably got a line of girls hoping to go out with him.

At least that’s what Shu _thinks,_ until he goes by their classroom, and finds Kaoru sitting alone with a small box and some flowers on his desk.

“Hakaze”, Shu stays stiffly. From the items, his plans today are obvious. But why is he still here? A nagging voice inside Shu’s head says something is strange, even _wrong,_ but it’s silenced by another feeling, an uglier one that twists lightly at his stomach.

“H-huh?” Kaoru turns his head, but quickly looks down at his desk. “Uh, Itsuki-kun. Didn’t expect to see you here.”

“That should be my line”, Shu frowns. “Don’t you have that cute girlfriend of yours waiting for you?”

Kaoru is quiet for a moment, and somehow, Shu feels like he said something wrong. But wasn’t he only telling facts? Nobody could mistake Kaoru’s current relationship status, not when he gushes over her nearly every day, to the point it’s suffocating.

“Um… I’m not sure if she would be called a girlfriend…?”

Kaoru’s voice is oddly uncertain, and Shu looks at him again. After all that talk about her, but he’s not serious about her…?

“Don’t be ridiculous, Hakaze”, Shu huffs. “You haven’t talked about anything else for _weeks._ Surely, she’s your girlfriend by n--”

A small noise stops Shu mid-sentence, as abruptly as if he was struck. He _thinks_ he knows what he heard, but --

“A-ahaha… it’s not…”

Kaoru pays him another, and Shu freezes completely, now realising his mistake.

It seems that Kaoru was the one being serious. He is, undoubtedly, without question, _crying_.

With another sniffle, Kaoru looks back down, and Shu wonders how easy it would be to sink through the floor. Surely, anything would be better than facing a crying Kaoru Hakaze, especially if Shu’s words are partially the fault.

“Hakaze”, Shu begins. He doesn’t know what on earth he could say, but he has to say _something._

“I -- I should…” Kaoru stands up, hastily, and inhales a long, shaky breath that stings somewhere deeper inside Shu. “You probably have plans, so…”

“Nonsense”, Shu says, sharper than he intended. But the word does make Kaoru look up at him in surprise, and now that he has Kaoru’s attention, Shu tries to soften his expression. “I mean, I don’t. No one asked.”

“Um, sorry”, Kaoru smiles minutely.

“No, you don’t -- have to apologise for such a thing.” Shu shakes his head. A thousand things he wants to say, but none of them are currently leaving his mouth. “I’m sure your situation is… less pleasant than mine.”

That’s _another_ thing Shu didn’t mean to say. What is up with him today? He would like to offer some form of comfort, because that’s very obviously what Kaoru needs, but comfort has never been his strongest suit. Where to start? How to do it properly? Especially considering Kaoru’s distaste for boys?

“Mm”, Kaoru winces. “Sorry you had to see a scene like this. It’s unlike me to, um…”

That isn’t strictly true -- anyone who has paid enough attention to Kaoru knows he’s prone to crying, as much as he tries to hide it. Shu opens his mouth, about to say as much, but stops himself just in time.

What on _earth_ would telling Kaoru he’s a crybaby accomplish now?

“You… I’m sure…” Shu stammers with the words, then shakes his head. “I’m sure there’s someone out there just waiting to wipe your tears.”

Kaoru freezes, eyes wide, and Shu finds himself just as stunned. He just… said that? A line so embarrassing, that Kaoru seems to be… to be…

_Blushing._

“Oh, wow, thanks”, Kaoru laughs, endearingly _nervous_. “That’s kind of you to say.”

_Kind,_ Kaoru says, a word Shu scarcely hears in association with himself, and he thinks he needs to go before his own cheeks begin to bloom in the same colour as Kaoru’s. But then Mademoiselle speaks, Shu’s saviour.

_“Kaoru-kun?”_

“Y-yes”, Kaoru blinks. “Sorry for not greeting you earlier. Did Itsuki-kun get you a new bow?”

_“Oh, sharp eyes! Yes, indeed. It’s pretty, isn’t it?”_

“Mmh. You look like a princess~”

The smile Kaoru graces Mademoiselle with is tender, and Shu’s concentration nearly breaks at the sight of it.

_“If you don’t have anywhere to go, what about spending the day with us?”_

“Mademoiselle”, Shu gasps. “What are you…”

_“It would do you good to get out a bit, and Kaoru-kun looks like he could use company. What do you boys say~?”_

Shu takes the earlier words back. Mademoiselle is _absolutely_ not Shu’s saviour.

“You know what?” Kaoru’s voice is still trembling ever so slightly, but it’s starting to regain some of its usual lovely melody. “That would be nice.”

Shu exhales slowly.

So it will be like this.

 

* * *

 

Less than twenty minutes later, Kaoru has washed his face, and they’re both ready to leave. Only now does the reality of the situation strike Shu; despite it being by Mademoiselle’s suggestion, despite it being in order to cheer Kaoru up after an apparent breakup, despite _all_ this -- what today effectively is, is a _date._

And that thought makes Shu considerably more nervous than is within his usual comfort zone.

“So”, Kaoru clears his throat. “Where should we go?”

“If you were going on a date…” Shu glances at the flowers Kaoru is still carrying. “We could just follow whatever you had planned?”

“Are you sure?” Kaoru lifts his eyebrows. “Even though you don’t know what that would be?”

“Hm! I’m sure it will be fine”, Shu nods. It can’t be too bad, right? “So, where _will_ we go?”

“The… hm… amusement park”, Kaoru looks away, hiding a smile. “If that’s really okay with you?”

“I…” Amusement park? With thrill rides? And _people?_ “Of… of course it’s okay…! I’m not scared.”

Shu is a _little_ bit scared, but Kaoru smiles at him, and suddenly, Shu feels like he could do anything.

 

* * *

  


It turns out, thrill rides aren’t open in winter. To Shu, that’s a minor relief, because right after telling Shu about the rides, Kaoru also tells him what their actual plans are.

Ice skating.

Now, the thing is, Shu prides himself on being an elegant person. His stage performances, his clothes, his mannerisms -- all refined and beautiful. But as much as he loathes to admit it, there are conditions where he doesn’t quite managed to keep that up.

Such as on his mortal enemy, ice.

“Why ice skating?” Shu mutters, lacing his skates. “Is this something people enjoy on a date?”

“Ah… she said she’d never skated before. I was gonna look cool by helping her if she stumbled. Hold her hand while she skated”, Kaoru’s mouth curves into a smile that’s simultaneously fond and sad and makes something ache inside Shu.

“Then you are… good at it?” Shu asks carefully. His own mouth feels dry at the mere thought of descending on the ice.

“Fairly, yes. I even had a photoshoot on ice… See, it’ll be embarrassing if the guy doesn’t know how to skate?”

Shu bites his tongue, and nods like he could sympathize with the sentiment. By now, there’s no way out of this situation, and -- Kaoru _will_ find out exactly how embarrassing Shu is on the ice.

He would prefer to not trip over his own feet in front of the boy he -- _likes,_ but it’s too late to escape, so all he can do is get out there and try to preserve as much of his dignity as possible.

Kaoru glides to the ice with little effort, and Shu thinks he would rather drop dead than follow, but he has little choice.

For a moment, it goes well. Shu takes it slow, and he stays perfectly upright, with no trouble at all.

Then he lets go of the edge of the rink.

Kaoru turns around at the sound of Shu hitting the ice. He opens his mouth, but Shu hastily drags himself back up.

“I seem to be out of touch -- it’s been a while”, Shu claims. Not lies, since it _has_ been a while (mostly because he’s refused to do this), and he _is_ out of touch. To put it mildly.

“Be careful, yeah?” Kaoru still looks worried, and Shu’s cheeks flush with shame. He nods, and Kaoru looks away, which is good, because --

Kaoru looks back just in time to see Shu’s legs give out on him a second time. His hands take the impact and he hisses, barely holding back a few very undignified words.

“Um, Itsuki-kun?”

Shu looks up, as much as he doesn’t want to, and Kaoru is -- _holding back laughter._

“Y-yes.”

“You could’ve just said you’re not good at this.”

“I’m -- merely rusty”, Shu tries one more time, and now Kaoru does laugh, along with a small shake of his head. A smile remains on Kaoru’s face as he extends a hand, and Shu is so stunned about the fondness of that expression that he blinks at the hand at least five times before Kaoru feels the need to clarify his intentions.

“C’mon, I’ll help you up.”

Shu’s eyes dart from Kaoru’s hand up to his face. That means… _touching?_

“I…”

“Hurry up, before I change my mind, you know?” Kaoru looks away, and it could be caused by the cold temperature, but his cheeks seem redder than they were before.

Shu takes his hand, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the touch is almost electric. If he’s lucky, Kaoru won’t notice the way his hand trembles.

“I could wait on the side, so you could have fun --”

“Nonsense”, Kaoru shakes his head. “I’ll help you out, okay?”

_Like you were going to help out your girlfriend,_ is what Shu thinks as Kaoru pulls him up, but he holds his tongue.

Shu’s legs start wobbling as soon as he’s standing again, but now Kaoru pretends he didn’t notice. Instead, he keeps holding Shu’s hand, and swirls around so that they’re facing each other -- then takes Shu’s other hand in his, too.

“Hakaze?” Shu _squeaks,_ a far too embarrassing sound, but Kaoru courteously doesn’t say anything about it.

“Just follow my lead.”

Kaoru slides backwards, and Shu has no other choice than to follow. Kaoru’s eyes dart between Shu, the ice, their feet, and behind himself, but Shu can’t tear his own eyes from Kaoru’s face. He’s more focused than Shu has ever seen him apart from the stage, and something about that is -- unnerving, but in a _good_ way, and Shu doesn’t know what to do with himself.

It’s probably to do with how Kaoru takes this… _seriously,_ helping Shu. Sure, he did laugh, but even that wasn’t malicious at all. And now he’s guiding Shu instead of making fun of him. Shu is so used to the thought of people ridiculing him if they knew he can’t skate, that small gestures like this make him feel light-headed.

“See? You’re doing it.”

“I’m what?”

“Skating”, Kaoru laughs.

“R-right”, Shu stutters, but ah, that won’t do. He clears his throat. “Right.”

The odd thing is, Kaoru seems far too happy, considering he got left today. Shu would suspect it to be a front, since Kaoru _is_ arguably fairly good at hiding his true feelings, but --

Shu likes to think he’s fairly skilled at reading Kaoru, and at the moment, the boy is genuinely having fun.

Perhaps Shu has finally done something right.

 

* * *

 

 

Getting the accursed skates off his feet is a relief. The ground feels unsteady after the ice, but Shu welcomes it, especially once his legs stop shaking.

“I’m never doing that again”, Shu declares. They’re out in the fresh air again, and even having so many people around them doesn’t bother Shu as much right now.

“Even if I ask nicely?” Kaoru’s voice is playful, and Shu clears his throat to change the subject.

“What’s next? It’s becoming dark already.”

“Dark is perfect, it means there will be lights. We’re going on that.”

Kaoru points somewhere vaguely up, and Shu follows his finger with his eyes.

“That’s romantic”, Shu mutters, gazing at the ferris wheel. “Whyever would she leave you?”

“Itsuki-kun?”

“What? I mean, it looks like it’ll be… fun.”

Kaoru lifts an eyebrow, but doesn’t ask.

 

* * *

 

In theory, a ferris wheel sounds like it will make for a decent time. Certainly, it will take them high, but the structure should be secure enough to keep them safe. The space they are in is a closed one, so there’s absolutely no danger of anyone falling off.

So no, there is no problem in the ferris wheel itself. Rather, the problem is that they are the only two people in a small compartment, facing each other, and Kaoru is enraptured by the scenery below them. Fingers splayed against the glass, his eyes shine bright enough to rival the lights of the amusement park.

He’s _beautiful._ And that’s always a problem, because it gives Shu indecent urges such as kissing him, and currently, they are close enough that Shu would only need to reach over to make it a reality.

“I was uncertain about bringing her here”, Kaoru mutters, and the mention of _her_ knocks all thoughts of kissing Kaoru out of Shu. That’s right, even under normal circumstances such a thing would be out of the question, and now that Kaoru is in such a vulnerable state… even more so.

Shu finds himself infinitely more interested in the scenery than he did a minute ago.

“She’s a little squeamish about heights”, Kaoru continues. “But I figured it would be fine, since the compartments are closed?”

“Anyone who didn’t enjoy this sight would be a fool”, Shu shakes his head, and he doesn’t know whether he’s talking more of the city lights beneath them, or the way they illuminate Kaoru.

“Maybe”, Kaoru sighs. “But I wonder if I made today’s plans thinking of what she wanted or what I wanted.”

“You said she’s never gone ice skating, so you wanted to let her experience something new. And you wanted to show this breathtaking scenery to her”, Shu waves a hand in the direction of the window. “You may not think so, but you have a habit of putting others before yourself.”

“I don’t…” Kaoru begins. “Maybe. But I didn’t realise her true feelings, you know?”

Shu doesn’t like the current subject too much. Maybe that relationship is over, but remembering it, remembering the joy on Kaoru’s face for the last few weeks, and seeing him now so devoid of that joy -- it hurts. And it hurts more because there’s so little Shu can do apart from consoling words, and he’s _not_ good at consoling words.

Especially since he finds himself greatly disliking this faceless girl who would make Kaoru feel this awful.

“What were those… true feelings, then?” Shu asks. This is a good way to react, right…?

Kaoru stares out of the window, wistful. Was that out of line to ask, after all--?

“She had fun with me, but we were getting too serious for her. She said I’m not boyfriend material.”

“Hm. She does sound like a proper fool”, Shu says without thinking. “Naturally, she’s wrong.”

“What?”

“And rude, as well. Leaving someone on a day dedicated to couples… what utter lack of consideration.”

“Itsuki-kun--”

“Surely, you deserve someone who will appreciate you for your worth. Not someone who will abandon you when you start caring.”

“Itsuki-kun, you -- you don’t have to try to make me feel better.”

“Hm?” Shu blinks. Kaoru has his gaze cast down, and he’s fiddling with the hem of his shirt. “Make you… feel better? I meant it, though?”

“Oh”, Kaoru breathes, slowly looking up. His cheeks are dark, and he doesn’t quite meet Shu’s eyes. “You don’t think I was foolish to get attached?”

Shu considers it, tilts his head.

“The deeply caring person you are, I don’t see you having a _choice_ there. Next time, you should fall for someone who sees that.”

“So, someone like you?”

“Like…” Did he hear that right?

“Y-you know. Who thinks like you”, Kaoru turns his face away. “About some things. Not _you_ exactly, because we aren’t… it would be weird. Probably.”

_Probably?_

Now, Shu may be oblivious to some intricacies of the human heart, but that sounded a lot like it would translate to a _maybe dating you isn’t an entirely impossible thought._

And a _maybe_ from the self-proclaimed straight boy is already more than Shu could have imagined.

“Hakaze”, Shu leans closer. He had decided to never let Kaoru know of his feelings, but perhaps a small indication would be okay? Something like, _dating you wouldn’t be unappealing._

But Shu doesn’t manage to utter the sentence before Kaoru speaks again.

“I thought about giving you the flowers, as a thank you for today.”

“The flowers?”

Now that Shu thinks about it, Kaoru held on to the flowers all day. They don’t seem to have taken well to the cold, and droop like they haven’t been watered in days.

“Yeah… I don’t know what I expected”, Kaoru chuckles, looking down at them. “So let’s forget about the flowers. But after that, all I’ve got is, well.”

Kaoru pulls a small box from his pocket. It’s decorated with a satin bow, and he stares at it with a pensive look on his face.

“That was for her, too?” Shu asks, as if the answer wasn’t obvious.

“I know I should’ve waited until White Day, but I couldn’t help myself”, Kaoru’s smile is just a bit embarrassed. “I would gift this to you, but I don’t know if it’s your style.

“Nonsense”, Shu shakes his head. “If there’s a gift you wish to give me, I will cherish it, no matter what it is.”

They are bold words considering he usually doesn’t follow them, but this is _Kaoru,_ so he will do his best.

No matter how tacky a gift may lie inside the box.

“You’re surprisingly charming, aren’t you?”

“I-I’m what?” Shu stutters.

“Here”, Kaoru hands over the box. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Itsuki-kun.”

“T-thank you.” Shu has a hard time levelling his voice. “I’ll just…”

Before he can pull off the bow, however, the ferris wheel stops. Their ride is over, and Kaoru stands up.

“You’ll just have to open it later. Now come, I’ll escort you home like a proper date would.”

Now what _that_ implies, Shu isn’t sure, but he nods and follows, regardless.

 

* * *

 

Shu can _sense_ the eyes of his classmates on him, but he can hardly find it in himself to care. Every time he turns his head, he can feel a pair of earrings dangle against his neck.

He doesn’t normally wear anything bigger than studs, and he _definitely_ doesn’t wear anything that sparkles, but in this case, he’s making an exception. He did say he would cherish Kaoru’s gift, no matter what it is.

The boy in question arrives to class just in time, and when he plops down in his chair, Shu can tell from his breathing that he ran to get here. Typical of him, yet Shu finds himself completely endeared.

Almost shyly, Kaoru looks over at Shu, and soon, his whole face lights up in a bright smile.

So yes, maybe these earrings are far too glittery and a little bit tacky, but Shu will gladly wear them just for that lovely smile.


End file.
